India to buy 25 BMP-2 fitted with NAG Antitank Guided Missiles

India`s military is planning to acquire 25 Nag BMP-2-based self-propelled anti-tank guided missile (SPATGM) systems under a US$70 million contract, according to the Economic Times newspaper. “Reports claim that the Indian Ministry of Defense [MoD] has cleared the procurement of 300 Nag [anti-tank] missiles and 25 modified NAMICA BMP-2-based carrier vehicles,” the newspaper says.

In a statementon April 28, the MoD said, “In a boost to indigenisation and in realisation of India’s growing technological prowess, the DAC approved procurement of Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) designed and developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at the cost of Rs 524 crore

“The system includes a third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the NAG, along with the Missile Carrier Vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night. This will give a quantum boost to the Army’s capability against enemy armour.”

The Nag ATGM is an anti-tank missile of the third generation with enhanced top-attack capabilities. According to the open sources, the weapon has a weight of 42 kg, a length of 1.90 m, and a diameter of 190 mm. The Nag is armed with an 8 kg tandem warhead. The ground-based variant of the missile has a launch range of 500-4,000 m and a speed of 230 m/s. The weapon is fitted with an imaging infra-red (IIR)/active radar seeker.

The NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier) SPATGM is based on the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle and armed with eight ready-to-use containerized anti-tank missiles.